NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav challenged Janata Dal United to speak out if they were in favour of putting reservation in the Ninth Schedule amid state-wide sit-in protests on Sunday by the former demanding caste census in the country.
“We challenge the JDU leaders to tell whether they are in favour of putting it (reservation) in the Ninth Schedule or not,” Tejashwi Yadav said.
The Ninth Schedule includes a list of state and central laws that cannot be challenged in the court.
RJD has been demanding nationwide caste census and the inclusion of Bihar’s 65% reservation increase in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
Criticising the BJP government for opposing the caste survey, Tejashwi said that the saffron party “wants the son of a garbage collector and the next generation to clean drains his entire life…Those who are beggars should be kept as beggars all their life. This is the mentality of the BJP.”
“The great men who were our leaders, all talked about reservation and talked about those sections which are at the bottom of the society, whether Dalit, tribal or backward. Even today, you will see that discrimination happens in society,” he added.
Tejashwi further accused the BJP ally of celebrating when Bihar was denied special status category.
“If they are in power, then it is their responsibility… Leave aside the special state status of Bihar… JDU people were clapping when Bihar was not given the special state status. Why should it not be given?,” the former deputy chief minister of Bihar said.
The BJP criticized the protest, accusing the RJD of failing to secure reservations in Panchayats when they were in power.
“CM Nitish Kumar ensured that caste census took place in Bihar. He took all affirmative actions regarding the same. They (Opposition) are such kind of people who did not even provide reservation in Panchayats when they were in power,” Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha said.
Tejashwi, however, said otherwise — “When we were in power for 17 months, only then the reservation limit was increased?… Why did it not happen during their (NDA) tenure? They are doing drama. Why is it (reservation) not being included in the Ninth Schedule? Those who are giving statements today were the same people who were sitting with me and announcing reservation.”
“5 lakh jobs were given during that time (during RJD-JDU tenure)… Sports policy, and education policy were made during that time… These people (NDA) are negative. If you say something positive, they are bound to get hurt,” he added.
This comes after pressing demand from key NDA ally Chirag Paswan for nationwide caste census. “My party has always maintained its stance that it is in favor of a caste census. We want the caste census to happen. The reason for this is that often state and central governments develop schemes with caste considerations in mind. These schemes are designed to integrate these communities into the mainstream. In such cases, the government should have information about the population of each caste,” he had said.
“We challenge the JDU leaders to tell whether they are in favour of putting it (reservation) in the Ninth Schedule or not,” Tejashwi Yadav said.
The Ninth Schedule includes a list of state and central laws that cannot be challenged in the court.
RJD has been demanding nationwide caste census and the inclusion of Bihar’s 65% reservation increase in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
Criticising the BJP government for opposing the caste survey, Tejashwi said that the saffron party “wants the son of a garbage collector and the next generation to clean drains his entire life…Those who are beggars should be kept as beggars all their life. This is the mentality of the BJP.”
“The great men who were our leaders, all talked about reservation and talked about those sections which are at the bottom of the society, whether Dalit, tribal or backward. Even today, you will see that discrimination happens in society,” he added.
Tejashwi further accused the BJP ally of celebrating when Bihar was denied special status category.
“If they are in power, then it is their responsibility… Leave aside the special state status of Bihar… JDU people were clapping when Bihar was not given the special state status. Why should it not be given?,” the former deputy chief minister of Bihar said.
The BJP criticized the protest, accusing the RJD of failing to secure reservations in Panchayats when they were in power.
“CM Nitish Kumar ensured that caste census took place in Bihar. He took all affirmative actions regarding the same. They (Opposition) are such kind of people who did not even provide reservation in Panchayats when they were in power,” Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha said.
Tejashwi, however, said otherwise — “When we were in power for 17 months, only then the reservation limit was increased?… Why did it not happen during their (NDA) tenure? They are doing drama. Why is it (reservation) not being included in the Ninth Schedule? Those who are giving statements today were the same people who were sitting with me and announcing reservation.”
“5 lakh jobs were given during that time (during RJD-JDU tenure)… Sports policy, and education policy were made during that time… These people (NDA) are negative. If you say something positive, they are bound to get hurt,” he added.
This comes after pressing demand from key NDA ally Chirag Paswan for nationwide caste census. “My party has always maintained its stance that it is in favor of a caste census. We want the caste census to happen. The reason for this is that often state and central governments develop schemes with caste considerations in mind. These schemes are designed to integrate these communities into the mainstream. In such cases, the government should have information about the population of each caste,” he had said.
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